Capital.

Foreign ministry.

Foreign Secretary Chen Siguang did not have much affection for the arrogant British minister in front of him.

"Your country's forced entry of warships into the Gulf of Jakarta and the landing of marines without the permission of the Dutch side have greatly shocked our Government, and the whole of our country is very concerned about this unpleasant incident.

"Mr. Minister, you must know that the atrocities that took place in Jakarta are truly appalling, and there is a great deal of evidence that such atrocities were carried out in an organized and deliberate manner against the Chinese diaspora." Chen Siguang's English is mixed with a German flavor that can't be washed away.

Minister Sadaoyi frowned: "As far as I know, all the people who caused this atrocity are barbaric natives, and the Jakarta authorities also mobilized the military and police to suppress it immediately after the incident, and this kind of barbaric and cruel behavior is completely incompatible with our European civilization world, I hope that your country can treat this incident with a rational attitude, and I believe that the Dutch side will severely punish the murderer and give you an explanation." ”

"Even such a large-scale aborigine revolt could not be stopped at once, and the basis for Dutch domination of the East Indies was too weak, and if it was really impossible to effectively manage the barbarians, it would be better for a truly powerful and more civilized country to do the work for them."

Sa Daoyi's face became grim: "Can I understand that your country is trying to take advantage of this opportunity to seize the Dutch East Indies?" ”

"The Imperial Government wishes to do its utmost to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its nationals." Chen Siguang's face was expressionless.

"I hope that your country will exercise restraint and move the already stable situation in the Far East forward as soon as possible on the path to peace, which my country has long hoped for, and will take corresponding actions to achieve it."

The threat under the cover of diplomatic rhetoric will not be unheard by Chen Siguang.

"It is also our desire to promote peace in East Asia, but the Dutch side must reflect on it, severely punish the perpetrators and inactive officials, compensate the victims for all losses, and have the government come forward to publicly apologize to our country and the victims, and promise to improve its policy towards the Chinese diaspora, and ensure that similar incidents do not happen again."

"The Netherlands is a member of the European civilizational world, and the civilizational world has the norms of the civilizational world, and I believe that your country and the Netherlands will be able to properly handle this incident."

"Thank you very much for your concern, and since your country and the Netherlands belong to the so-called world of European civilization, I would like to ask you to persuade the Dutch side to make it come to its senses as soon as possible, believing that with the alliance between China and Britain, we will be able to cooperate in maintaining peace and stability in East Asia." Chen Siguang deliberately bites the word "East Asia" to the fullest.

Sa Daoyi was a little satisfied.

"East Asia", not "Asia", this is the crux of the matter.

After seeing off the British minister, Chen Siguang asked to call the Prime Minister's Office.

November 7, Jakarta Bay.

If the toy-like boats and dinghies can be ignored entirely, there are actually only four warships in the bay.

On the east side of the bay are the cruisers "Winter Rain" and "Songyu" of the Imperial Chinese Navy, on the west side of the bay is the cruiser "Cohen" of the Royal Dutch Navy, and between the Chinese and Dutch warships is the British Royal Navy cruiser "Manchester".

The "Manchester" arrived that morning, and the "Cohen" arrived two hours later.

After the successful landing of a total of 80 Chinese sailors and marines on November 5, the refugees who had been crowded inside and outside the consulate began to assemble at Tanjung Priok Pier, escorted by sailors and marines, the refugees boarded small boats in batches and went to the warship, but the space on the warship was limited after all, only 48 hours later, the two cruisers could no longer accept more refugees, and in the blink of an eye, the dock was crowded with people again, and the Dutch soldiers and natives armed with sticks circled around the pier, and the atmosphere was completely relaxed.

Colonel Liao Shengzhen, commander of the 1st Task Force, and Ye Hua, the imperial consul in Jakarta, huddled among the refugees, their hearts hovering in the center of the black hole.

Liao Shengzhen looked at the flies or crows that were spinning around the dock, and his fists kept clenching.

"These guys are just going to drive all the Chinese people out of Jakarta!"

"Drive people away, loot property." Ye Hua added.

In Jakarta in November, there is no snow, only tropical sunshine that burns the skin.

Liao Shengzhen shaded the sun with the back of his hand and looked anxiously out of the bay, except for the masts of the warships in the bay, there were seabirds flying around for some reason.

"Damn, it's been two days, and there hasn't been a single boat willing to help, and I don't even want to give money, what a pile of garbage! What's the matter, the second detachment is still nowhere to be seen......"

"Wait a minute, maybe it's a boiler failure, won't your ship burst a dozen pipes?"

"Not only did the pipes burst, but the coal was running out, and the Dutch hid all the coal, and they wanted to torment us, so that we could only anchor and return home when our own coal ship arrived. Are the wounded all settled? It won't be a problem, right? ”

"Most of them are arranged in Anglo-American church hospitals, and no matter how ignorant the Dutch are, they have not yet dared to provoke Anglo-American."

Liao Shengzhen said indignantly: "Hmph, don't you dare to provoke Yingmei, but dare to provoke my Celestial Empire?" ”

Ye Hua muttered while changing the bandages on a little boy's head: "Now is not the time to say such things......

"Forget about the war, I really want to send a telegram to the top, ask for a war against the Netherlands, occupy the entire Dutch East Indies, and see who dares to bully our compatriots."

"The upper authorities will not let go to war, now is not the time to go to war."

"How do you know the way?"

"Have you forgotten about Chita? Now is the time for Britain, France, and the United States to be suspicious of our country, and any radical behavior will lead to a further deterioration of the situation, and our country is far from being an opponent of Britain, France, and the United States. ”

"It's time to annex this island!"

"Now is not the time to turn against the top three...... At least for 10 years, don't want to turn your face with the three powers, even if France can give up the territory of Annam, Britain and the United States will never allow our country to dominate the western Pacific, this is an irresolvable contradiction, and we will not try to seize this dangerous hegemony until we have the strength to confront Britain and the United States at sea. The number of chimneys and the wealth of Britain and the United States are far beyond the strength of our alone......"

Liao Shengzhen smiled: "As long as we form an alliance with Germany, won't all problems be solved?" With Germany containing Britain and France in Europe, China only needs to contain Russia with part of its land forces, and it is enough to occupy the South China Sea with the main force of sea and land to the south. ”

"The problem is that Germany's attitude is unclear now, and Germany has joined the European banking group that came to Russia's aid, so the decision to form an alliance must be made on the premise that a war between Germany and Britain and France is inevitable."

"Leave this kind of problem to the big guys, and behold, there's a mast popping up over there......"

Liao Shengzhen excitedly raised the telescope on his chest and quickly locked onto the target.

"How? Is it our ship? Ye Hua was so nervous.

After a long time, Liao Sheng Zhencai nodded slightly.

"What kind of ship the hell? You make it clear! ”

"The second detachment arrived, and if the telegram did not deceive anyone, there were three cruisers, one of which was the 'Baiyun' equipped with 305 mm heavy guns. I'm going back to the ship, and I can't meet the General on this noisy dock. ”

After a routine shower in the afternoon, the Second Task Force of the Imperial Chinese Navy sailed into Jakarta Bay, and the commander, Commodore Yuan Feng, brought three warships that terrified the Dutch: the "Baiyun" armored cruiser with a standard displacement of 10,500 tons and equipped with four 305 mm guns, the "Modao" protective cruiser with a displacement of 4,750 tons and four 210 mm guns, and the "Fengjian" protective cruiser with a displacement of 4,310 tons and four 150 mm guns. There were more than 1,450 officers and men of the three ships, including marines.

As soon as this powerful maritime force entered the bay, it immediately aroused different reactions from the people on the shore, and the refugees gathered at the pier burst into tears, and many of them hummed the tune of the imperial national anthem "Golden Ou Lack" and the imperial naval military song "Ten Thousand Miles", and the indigenous hooligans who had originally gathered around the dock and were ready to move fled one after another, and the Dutch soldiers guarding the pier saw that the situation was not good, and after a few officers took the lead in the rat scurry, most of them scattered.

Although the coastal batteries defending the Gulf of Jakarta aimed their cannons at the Chinese ships sailing into the bay, they were slow to receive the order to open fire, but the officers and men defending the bay knew that although their old breech coastal guns had a caliber of 13.5 inches (343 mm), they could not penetrate the steel armor of the new protective cruisers and armored cruisers, and the Armstrong and Krupp rapid-fire guns had a few, but the number was too small to resist the five Chinese warships in the bay with strong guns.

After all, nearly two hundred years have passed since the golden century of the Netherlands, and the reason why this rich colonial heritage in the East Indies has been preserved to this day is not because of how strong the national and military strength of the Netherlands is, but because of the blessing of the international situation, the Netherlands, which finally stood on the right side after the most vicissitudes of the European wars in the 18th and 19th centuries, has in fact become a small follower of Britain, under the protection of the British Empire, carefully guarding its vast territory connecting Asia and Oceania.

The essence of the attempt to get involved in the Dutch East Indies was to try to do evil to the British Empire, so when the Chinese warship suddenly sailed into the Bay of Jakarta, it was the British warship that followed first.

Brigadier General Yuan Feng's mission was to deter, not provoke war.

"Get all the refugees on the ship, two coal ships and one passenger ship will arrive tomorrow, and after the coal is replenished, all the refugees will be transported back to China, and the mission will be over."

"What! That's it! Liao Shengzhen shouted dissatisfiedly.

"I understand your feelings, if I can, I also want to bombard this city where only brutes remain, but soldiers take obedience to orders as their duty, and I hope you will abide by your duty and complete your mission successfully." The brigadier general looked at the city of Jakarta, lined with tall palm and coconut trees, and did not want to say more.

"But ......" Liao Shengzhen was still not convinced.

"Don't make a fuss, either wait ten years, maybe there is still a chance to take revenge, or retire now and do what you should do when you go home."

Liao Sheng really had nothing to say.

Hot sea breezes, noisy Jakarta.

In the distance in front of the muzzle of the 305-mm gun of the "Baiyun", thousands of people, both Dutch and native, were busy fleeing from the city with their families and dogs.